When most of us take in a landscape, we note the emotion it evokes and its beauty. We may take a quick photo. We even may bring that photo out off and on and remember the place and time. For artist R. Scott Baltz it is more than that, much more.
“Something must stand out in the landscape, and I will hold on to it, and often I’ll come back to it,” shares Baltz. “It is a way of being in it, seeing it, experiencing it.”
Baltz spends a lot of time outdoors, which is where the bunk of his inspiration comes from. He prefers to let things gestate in his mind for a while. Sometimes for a very long time.
“It starts when something in the landscape speaks to me. It may be a very small thing, instead of something grand,” says Baltz. “Maybe it is just the way the light hits the tree or something that stands out as being a little unusual. So often I find it deeply, movingly so, beautiful.”
Once an image, real or mental, clicks, the process begins.
“I do use cell phone photography. Sometimes it is to capture a moment for compositional purposes to be referenced later on,” he explains. “However, I actually never paint from photographs. I do rough sketches, but I always just let color happen and evolve during the painting process.”
Being inspired is half of the battle for most artists. Taking that inspiration and turning it into a physical piece of art that captures the emotion that was felt…that is the magic.
Stay tuned for more about artist R. Scott Baltz and his process.
As always you can see Maine Art Hill’s collection of his work by viewing his artist page. You may also read more about Scott by checking out our blog posts that feature him.
R. Scott Baltz – Stories, Shows, and Insights